Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Royal Family 6-2
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After wrapping up the contract at P&C Company, Ji-hyeok headed to Changwon.
He pulled up in front of a factory located a bit on the outskirts of Changwon.
This was Jinsung Tech.
"Excuse me."
The factory looked to be about five or six hundred pyeong in size.
But inside, after opening the door, it was filled only with various machines and equipment—no people in sight.
Touching the machine at the front, he saw a thin layer of dust, suggesting it hadn't been used in ages.
Ji-hyeok slowly examined the machines as he made his way deeper into the factory, approaching an office partitioned off by a divider.
Knock! Knock!
He gave a light knock and opened the door. Thankfully, there was one person inside.
"Excuse me."
"Eek! You scared me!"
"Sorry about that. I did knock, but maybe it was too quiet."
The middle-aged female employee, genuinely startled, clutched her chest with both hands as she looked at Ji-hyeok.
But his polite demeanor seemed to put her somewhat at ease, and she cautiously spoke up.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see President Park Seon-woong."
"Whew, you gave me a fright. Do you have an appointment? He's out right now."
"No, I didn't make an appointment. Will he be long?"
"Well... I don't really know when he'll be back."
"Mind if I wait, then?"
"Well... are you from the bank, by any chance?"
"No, nothing like that."
"I really have no idea when he'll return..."
"That's fine. And don't worry—I'm not here for anything bad. Would it be okay if I wait quietly over there?"
"Alright, go ahead."
Eased by Ji-hyeok's courteous attitude, the employee permitted him to wait and turned back to her chair.
After watching her for a moment, Ji-hyeok glanced around and then addressed her again.
"Mind if I make some coffee?"
"Oh! Sorry, I'm a bit out of it right now. Let me make it for you."
"No, no, keep working. I'm just sitting here anyway—nothing else to do. I'll handle it. Want one while I'm at it? I'm pretty good at making coffee."
"Still..."
"Come on, it's no trouble. One cup, yeah?"
"Hee-hee-hee, well, if you insist."
"You got it. I'll make it tasty."
Perhaps due to Ji-hyeok's easygoing charm, the employee's expression softened quickly.
Having chatted with her like that, Ji-hyeok naturally approached the water cooler, grabbed a paper cup and instant coffee mix from the table, and brewed it with practiced ease.
"Here, special brew."
"Hee-hee, thank you. I feel bad about this."
"No worries. Idle folks like me should take care of the workers, right?"
"Speaking of, what a scatterbrain I am. I didn't even ask what brings you here."
"I'm thinking about investing in Jinsung Tech."
"Pardon? An investment?"
The mild-mannered middle-aged woman's eyes widened round.
A flicker of hesitation crossed her face for a moment.
As if debating whether to speak...
But to Ji-hyeok, she looked like she was dying to say something.
In that case, asking was only natural.
"No one's around the company, huh?"
"Sigh... they're on vacation."
"Everyone?"
"Well... yes. Factories often take vacations all at once, you know."
"I see. Yeah, it makes sense—better to shut down completely for a few days than have sporadic absences disrupting production."
"Right... yeah. Hee-hee... ha."
The awkwardness was palpable.
Clearly, this woman had zero talent for acting—not even a rat dropping's worth.
Ji-hyeok half-worried her face might start twitching.
But just then—
"Ah! President!"
The employee, who had been awkwardly slurping the coffee Ji-hyeok handed her, shot up from her chair like she'd seen a savior.
Turning to follow her gaze, Ji-hyeok saw Park Seon-woong, his face utterly exhausted.
He looked far older and more worn than in his photos. As he opened the door and entered, he spotted the unfamiliar Ji-hyeok and cautiously asked,
"Are you from the bank, perhaps?"
"No. But I am here to see you, President."
"Who might you be..."
At that moment—
The employee scurried to Park Seon-woong's side and whispered loudly enough for all to hear.
"He says he wants to invest in our company."
If you're gonna say it, just say it out loud.
Her volume didn't match the "whisper" at all.
"An investment?"
Park Seon-woong's eyes widened in surprise as well.
Amusingly, the female employee put a finger to her lips, shushing the startled president.
Have I ever seen such innocents?
Ji-hyeok smiled faintly at their antics.
"Yes, that's right. You just heard my business. President, could we talk?"
"Ah, yes. Please, come to my office."
It was a bit unexpected, actually.
Even though it was nine years ago, Park Seon-woong had been the president of Taesung Chemical.
So Ji-hyeok had expected him to retain some of that executive poise and savvy, even after all this time.
But the man before him was just a weary old soul, beaten down by life.
Park Seon-woong was now sixty.
Yet he looked nearly seventy, so haggard and worn.
"Have a seat. Tea or—"
"I'm good. I have this."
The president's office was a total mess, in a word.
Papers piled everywhere, desk buried in materials.
What caught Ji-hyeok's eye most was the folding bed behind the desk.
As Ji-hyeok surveyed the office, Park Seon-woong cleared papers from the sofa table and spoke. Ji-hyeok raised his paper cup with a grin.
"Let's start with introductions. I'm Park Seon-woong, president of Jinsung Tech."
Ji-hyeok politely accepted the business card and offered his own.
"President, I'm from Taesung."
"Taesung?"
At the word "Taesung," Park Seon-woong's eyes trembled violently.
He peered closely at Ji-hyeok's card.
"Headquarters Special Sales Department... an unusual division."
"Yes. It's a new one. As you said, quite the odd department for a holding company unit."
"Hmm... alright. What brings you to me?"
Hearing "Taesung" had briefly excited him, but now Park Seon-woong seemed calmer, almost subdued.
To Ji-hyeok, the president's expression radiated a mix of love and hate.
Well, anything less would be strange.
Taesung had been Park Seon-woong's first job.
He'd spent his youth there, married, risen to president—a successful life, by any measure.
But a good ending is what makes it all worthwhile.
Park Seon-woong had sat in the president's chair for exactly three months.
After that, he'd "resigned voluntarily," but the sense of loss must have been indescribable.
Being cast out from the company that was his everything.
That's why Ji-hyeok had resolved, from the moment he met him, to be completely honest—no lies, no hiding.
"I stopped by P&C Company before coming here. And I acquired their 35% stake in Jinsung Tech."
"What? Why would you..."
"P&C Partners was just waiting for the right moment to liquidate Jinsung Tech. If things continued, they'd have gone into liquidation before the bank stepped in over next month's loan repayment."
"Hoo..."
A long sigh escaped Park Seon-woong.
He'd just come back from running around banks until his soles were worn thin.
By now, rejection was routine; he was that exhausted.
His sigh said it all.
"Did you let all the employees go?"
"Sigh, I paid this month's salaries and told them to find new jobs. That's my limit."
"I understand you've poured everything into Jinsung Tech. All your earnings from Taesung. Even put your house up as collateral at the bank."
"......That's right. But you mentioned investment?"
"Yes. Let me be straightforward. I came to meet you and choose between two options."
"Which are?"
"The first assumes Jinsung Tech has no chance of recovery. In that case, I'd hand over the shares I bought for 700 million entirely for free. You could then leverage the attached factory land for more investment, or liquidate and at least pocket 700 million."
"Is that... for real?"
"Yes. The second assumes Jinsung Tech's ultra-thin tempered glass tech has advanced beyond the existing 20% improvement—or is on the verge. If so, I'd invest 10 billion in the whole company."
"T-Ten... b-billion?"
"Yes."
Park Seon-woong's expression shifted gradually.
No longer the desperate SME president groveling at bank doors—but the face of a Taesung affiliate president, elite of elites.
Moments later, his mouth slowly opened.
"This isn't a project for some employee."
"No. But I'll answer that I have circumstances preventing me from saying more. Everything I've said is true, though."
"If I know Taesung, I know it well. Who are you, Mr. Seo Ji-hyeok? Why say you are investing in Jinsung Tech, not Taesung?"
Sharp, as expected.
Park Seon-woong had caught the loophole in his words.
"To hear that answer, I need yours first. It'd mean nothing in the first scenario."
"Fair enough."
Park Seon-woong nodded lightly, went to his desk, and returned with two thin plastic sheets.
"This is the existing product, and this the new one. If the old one had 20% better durability than competitors, the new version nails both durability and flexibility."
"What's the unit cost?"
"Same as before."
Ji-hyeok took the ultra-thin tempered glass samples from Park Seon-woong, folding and unrolling them, comparing the two.
"Can I see the test results?"
"Right here."
This time, it was a thick stack of documents.
After scrutinizing them page by page, Ji-hyeok reached the end and looked at Park Seon-woong.
"In-house tests."
"Yes. Unfortunately, we lack funds even for certified lab testing. But I can assure you—no exaggeration or falsehoods in these results."
"Still, won't be easy convincing the banks."
"Exactly. The data isn't the issue. Taesung and Mirae both deal with Engisys, the ultra-thin tempered glass specialists. They hold massive sway in this field. They know about my product. But they want only the patent rights. They don't want Jinsung Tech entering production. Hand over the patent or wither away... Engisys holds both cards."
"You're not considering just selling the patent?"
"No. But at this point, with bankruptcy looming, I can't rule it out. I'd lose everything."
"Objectively, how long do you think it'd take Engisys to catch up to this tech?"
"Hard to say. At least six to eight months minimum."
"In that time, you'd develop an even better version?"
"Of course. I've already mapped improvements. In six months, I could boost this by at least 30%."
"One last question, then. If you could return to Taesung, would you?"
Surprise filled Park Seon-woong's face.
But he didn't answer right away.
Perhaps it was only natural.
To him now, Taesung was an object of love and hate.
Thus, Ji-hyeok didn't press for an answer.